A Speck of Green in a Sea of Brown
by Soccer-Geek
Summary: Vignettes that tie-in with my story Hauntings From The Past and it's sequels.
1. Chapter 1

**These vignettes go along with my story 'Hauntings From The Past' and it's future sequels. I hope you enjoy!**

Takes place between chapters Five and Six of 'Hauntings From The Past'

_Never miss an opportunity to make others happy, even if you have to leave them alone in order to do it. ~Author Unknown_Ta

Jane Mago, Jedi Padawan as of 48 hours ago, had decided that Obi-Wan Kenobi, her fellow apprentice, was a grump. In the two days she had known the seventeen year old, he had barely spoken to her and seemed to be absorbed in a datapad, reading Force-knows-what.

When she asked Qui-Gon about Obi-Wan and why he was grumpy, her Master simply shrugged and said that Obi-Wan is a teenager. Apparently, they get grumpy for no reason. So Jane took it upon herself to fix that.

So that was why she had climbed over the back of the couch so that her head was beside Obi-Wan's, who was pointedly ignoring her.

"Obi-Wan," Jane said, dragging out the last syllable in his name.

"What, Jane?" Obi-Wan said, not turning to her.

"What'cha doin'?" Jane asked, resting her hands on Obi-Wan's shoulder.

"Reading. Now will you please get off me?" Obi-Wan asked.

Jane stuck out her lower lip, but did as she was asked.

Obi-Wan breathed a sigh of relief. The little pest was gone. Now he could focus on this text…

But Jane wasn't gone for long.

Obi-Wan frowned as he felt the couch shift beneath him, and he scowled as he saw the little brunette girl in his peripheral vision.

"What is it now, Jane?" Obi-Wan asked.

"What'cha readin'?" Jane asked, looking up at him, her hazel eyes unnaturally large.

"A text on the Sith War," Obi-Wan said. He told her the title and her eyes—if possible—got wider.

"Oh, I read that last week! Rather good light reading, isn't it?" Jane asked. Obi-Wan looked at her in dismay. The text was 3000 pages long, not including the timelines, sources, pictures, index and table of contents.

"Yes, yes it is," Obi-Wan said sarcastically. "Now, if you'll please?"

Jane nodded and jumped off the couch.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath and let himself relax before returning to his reading. The chapter was almost finished… then he felt weight on his thighs. And it was the right amount of pressure for it to be a small three year old girl.

"Jane," Obi-Wan said, glaring at Jane, who sat on his lap smiling brightly at him. "I will not ask you again. Please. Leave. Me. Alone."

Jane sniffed, her smile finally falling. She crawled off Obi-Wan and left the living room, leaving Obi-Wan feeling guilty at the look on her sad face.

"Obi-Wan won't let me cheer him up," Jane whined to Qui-Gon from where he sat at the kitchen table.

"Jane, my flower," Qui-Gon said with a sigh. "You should never miss an opportunity to make someone happy. Even if you have to leave them alone in order to do it."

Jane nodded and wandered back into the living room. She sat on the floor and turned on the holovision and flipped through the channels. She occasionally stopped on something that looked interesting, but it didn't hold her attention for very long. Finally, she landed on a channel and her eyes widened as the opening credits for a show titled 'GCIS' came onto the screen.

"GCIS?" Jane whispered to herself, trying to decipher the acronym.

"Galactic Criminal Investigative Services."

Jane turned to see Obi-Wan looking down at her.

"It's a crime-solving show, all fiction, but based off a real agency based here on Coruscant," Obi-Wan said. "It's rather good."

"Wanna watch with me?" Jane asked.

"Sure," Obi-Wan said. Jane crawled up onto the couch beside Obi-Wan and snuggled up next to him, to the boy's discomfort.

As they watched the show, Obi-Wan felt his gaze go to the little girl beside him. It was irony, he believed, that she was so engrossed in the mystery when she herself was a mystery. Her past, her parentage, it was all a secret that she kept from everyone.

_I hope to solve her one day,_ Obi-Wan said. _But for now, I'll just be happy knowing who killed the Rodian businessman…_


	2. Chapter 2

Day 7: A kiss goodnight.

"Master, Bant, Reeft and Garen are here," Obi-Wan called from the front door. "I'll be back in a few hours."

"Stay safe and be back by midnight," Qui-Gon called back.

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said. "See you."

"Excuse me," Jane said indignantly. The little girl in her pajamas blocked Obi-Wan's way to the door, crossing her arms and glaring at the eighteen year old. "You're forgetting something."

"Am I?" Obi-Wan asked, patting his pockets, knowing exactly what Jane was talking about.

"Yes," Jane said.

"Well, let's see, I have my keys, my ID, my lightsaber, now what could I be missing?" Obi-Wan asked her teasingly.

"I'll give you a hint," Jane said, and tapped her cheek.

"Ah, of course," Obi-Wan said, grinning at her. He knelt down and gently kissed her cheek. "Good-night, Jainy-bug. I'll see you in the morning. Don't cause trouble for Qui-Gon."

"I won't," Jane promised, moving out of the way. "Have fun!"

"I will," Obi-Wan said, ruffling her hair as he walked past. Jane closed the door behind him.

"You're a good big brother, you know that?" Bant said as the four walked down the hallway. Obi-Wan just blushed to the amusement of his friends.


	3. Chapter 3

**I must confess, this one was inspired by a Phineas and Ferb episode. If you watch the show, you'll quickly figure out which one.**

_I guess you had to be there._

"Let me get this straight," Bant said, looking at the Jedi Master and his two Padawans, all three covered in dried blood, bruises, scratches, and plaster, but all three had wide grins. "You guys were at a… collector's convention?"

"As security detail," Qui-Gon Jinn said grinning.

"Doesn't that mean you have to _prevent _riots?" Winna Di Uni said, an eyebrow raised.

"Well, we honestly weren't expecting this one," Obi-Wan said with a chuckle.

"And got caught up in an inter-genre geek war," Jane said happily.

"I still fail to see how this is so funny," Bant said as she checked the dressing on one of Obi-Wan's wounds.

At this, the three of them burst into laughter. Both Healers rolled their eyes; the trio had been doing this off and on since they had been brought into the Healer's Ward two hours ago.

"They fought-" Qui-Gon choked out, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye. "They fought in role-play."

"Role-play," Winna repeated. "So, they fought in costume?"

"No, not just in costume," Jane said with a giggle. "They made, they made their action figures fight for them!"

"Okay," Bant said, trying to figure out how this led to the Jedi's injuries. "And then?"

"Well, then-" Obi-Wan started, but they burst into another peal of laughter.

Winna shook her head and looked over her shoulder at the very confused junior healers.

"Someone sedate them, I don't think we'll ever get this story out of them," She said. Bant nodded and marked something on her clipboard.

"I'll file this under 'you had to be there'," Bant said.

"We've been filing a lot of their cases under that since Jane entered their lives," Winna said with a sigh as Bant tried to stuff another paper into the already full folder. "Wonder if that's a coincidence."


	4. Chapter 4

BAM!

"Mago! Kenobi!"

Both apprentices cringed at hearing C'boath's yells echo through the halls.

"Crud," Jane muttered, biting her lip.

"Sounds like the twisted duck found your jump rope the hard way," Obi-Wan said as the Jedi marched down the hallway, his face red, his white hair disheveled.

"And no Qui-Gon to get us out of this mess," Jane said sadly.

Qui-Gon was currently off planet with some other Jedi Masters for a week long negotiation mission. Knowing that Jane and Obi-Wan would be bored, he left them on Coruscant with Mace Windu occasionally checking on them. But before he had left, Qui-Gon gave the two a warning.

"Don't do anything to anger C'boath while I'm gone," He said with a dead serious look on his face. "He thinks he should be going on this mission in my place. Therefore, he will look for any excuse to yell at you two."

The five year old and nineteen year old promised to be cautious around C'boath and had managed to avoid the Master very well. Up till now, at least.

"Just let me do all the talking," Obi-Wan whispered.

"No need to tell me twice," Jane said, hiding behind Obi-Wan's leg.

"What is this?" C'boath said, waving Jane's jump rope in Obi-Wan's face. "What is this… HOOTENANNY?"

Trying—and failing—to resist smiling at the Jedi's choice of words, Obi-Wan cleared his throat and said calmly,

"That's Jane's jump rope. We're so happy you found it. We thought we had lost it for good. We've been-"

"I don't care!" C'boath roared, now glaring at Jane who had peeked out from behind Obi-Wan, a look of fear on her face. "You should have been more careful where you laid your jump thing! I could have died slipping on it!"

"Master C'boath, I swear it was an accident. Besides, it could have happened to anybody." Obi-Wan's voice was now nearing a tone of desperation. C'boath slammed the jump rope into Obi-Wan's hand.

"Get out of my sight and do not speak to me," C'boath said. "I do not want to hear another word you say, Kenobi. I will be having words with your Master when he gets back."

And with that, the Jedi turned on his heel and walked away.

"Master C'boath, wait!" Jane called.

"I do not want to hear it Mago!" C'boath called back as he started down a hallway.

"But Master C'boath! The cleaning droids, they just-!" Jane cried.

WHOOP!

"-waxed the floor." Jane finished pitifully, biting her lip again.

C'boath was flat on his back, swearing. The lookers-on were standing in stunned silence. Obi-Wan held his face in his hands, groaning.

"We are never going to get out of this mess," Obi-Wan said.

"No, no we're not." Jane said with a sigh.


	5. Chapter 5

**Follows last weeks installment.**

"So what you're telling me," Qui-Gon said calmly, looking at C'boath who was sitting across from him. "Is that my five year old Padawan mislaid a belonging and that you found it, the hard way?"

"Yes, Master Jinn, as I have been telling you for the past fifteen minutes!" C'boath said, his face full of fury. "She left that thing-" He said, pointing to the pink, sparkly jump rope currently in Qui-Gon's hand. "-out where anyone could have tripped over it. Clearly irresponsible! It is your job to make sure she learns responsibility!"

"Jane is five years old. She's not supposed to be responsible," Qui-Gon pointed out. "And, besides, she did not leave the jump-rope where you found it. It was taken by a youngling, not knowing it was hers. He hid the rope thinking he would get in trouble for taking it upon seeing Jane and Obi-Wan search for it. That you—or, more accurately your foot—were the one to find it is mere coincidental. It was not meant as a prank or to do any harm. It was merely an accident."

"Yes, then what do you call your two monsters letting me slip—on purpose—in the hall, not informing me that it had been freshly waxed?" C'boath demanded.

"From what I have been told by my Padawans as well as witnesses to this scene, Jane did try to warn you, but you refused to listen," Qui-Gon said. Innocently, he added, "May I suggest that you not look to where you fell, but to where you slipped?"

C'boath was now even more furious than he had been before.

Jane and Obi-Wan winced as they heard C'boath's yells from where they sat outside the door.

"He sure is letting Qui-Gon have it," Jane whispered. She looked up at Obi-Wan with wide-eyes. "Do you think we're gonna get in trouble?"

"No, I don't think we're going to be in trouble. At least with Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan said, gently petting Jane's hair to soothe her, while inwardly nervous himself.

Jane nodded and jumped to the feet as Qui-Gon exited the Council Room, Jane's jump-rope still in her hand. Qui-Gon gestured for them to follow him and once they were a safe distance away, he chuckled and handed Jane back her jump-rope.

"So, are we in trouble with the Council?" Jane asked, tucking the rope into the pocket of her robe.

"No," Qui-Gon said. "I was told to give you both a very firm lecture on responsibility. Let you two know that the consequences wouldn't be so light next time. Something about disrespecting the dignity and ego of High Council Members. I really tuned out after that."

"Are you going to lecture us?" Obi-Wan asked nervously.

Qui-Gon looked at his two anxious apprentices and smiled, his eyes twinkling.

"Let's not and say we did."

Jane and Obi-Wan grinned and the trio headed off towards their apartment.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Chore**

Jane only had one real, defined chore. Like most kids, she hated it. It was the most daunting task ever, and she knew Qui-Gon gave it to her only because he was tired of doing it.

Every morning, she had to wake up Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan was not a morning person. On a good morning, it was an inconvenience. On a bad morning, it was impossible. Fortunately, the bad mornings didn't come often.

But this one morning, Jane knew it was going to be a bad one. They usually happened on the mornings Qui-Gon met with some other Jedi Masters. Jane scowled at Qui-Gon's hastily scribbled note. Usually, she would wait for Qui-Gon. But today, she had good motive to wake up Obi-Wan: he had promised to take her to the aviator museum that day and Jane was determined to make sure he kept that promise.

_This is not going to be fun._

She went and opened the door to Obi-Wan's room and glared at her pseudo-brother. Taking a deep breath, she went further into the abyss.

"Obi-Wan," Jane said, shaking Obi-Wan's shoulder and talking into his ear. "Obi-Wan. Obi-Wa-an. Wa-ake uh-up."

Obi-Wan response was a muffled curse word and burying his head under his pillow. Jane scowled.

_So it's going to be that way is it?_

Jane went back to her room and grabbed her lightsaber. Standing a safe distance away, she turned it on, knowing he would respond to it. And he did, just not in the way she wanted. Jane fortunately got the blade shut off right before the pillow Obi-Wan threw could have gone through it. That had happened before. The stench of burned feathers was in the apartment for days after that.

Jane kicked the wall lightly as Obi-Wan pulled the covers over his head.

"How the heck did you make it to classes on time?" Jane demanded, knowing she wouldn't get the answer she already knew. Qui-Gon had told her the not wanting to wake up had only been recent in the past few years; like everything else, Qui-Gon blamed it on the fact that Obi-Wan was a teenager.

"Teenager or not, this is simply ridiculous." Jane growled.

She crawled onto Obi-Wan's bed and began jumping up and down on it.

"Obi. Wan. You. Need. To. Get. Up!" Jane said, emphasizing every word with a bounce.

She grinned mischievously as Obi-Wan rolled over onto his back, opening his eyes occasionally.

_Now to get him fully awake._ She thought deviously.

She dropped all her weight… and to her pleasure Obi-Wan sat bolt upright, looking at her with wide eyes as she sat on top of his legs.

"One day you're going to break my legs," Obi-Wan said sharply.

"Then that will teach you to get up when I tell you too," Jane said matter-of-factly. She crawled over and kissed his cheek. "Get dressed while I fix us some breakfast. The museum opens in a half-hour."

With a grin, she left the room and a grumbling Obi-Wan. As soon as the door closed, however, he smiled. He was perfectly willing to get up when she told him too. But what fun would that be for either of them?


	7. Chapter 7

Siriwan courtesy of Jane and Bant!

_Strange Weather We're Having_

Jane and Bant were scheming. And when they were scheming, it never led to anything good. For Obi-Wan, at least.

So it was one particular day, Bant started banging on the door to the apartment owned by Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Jane.

"Obiwanobiwanobiwan!" Bant screamed. Obi-Wan threw open the door to have his hand siezed by Bant. "Come on!"

"Where are we going?" Obi-Wan asked, struggling to keep up.

He was very confused, and his confusion only grew as he saw Jane dragging Siri Tachi down the hall in the direction he and Bant had been coming from.

Suddenly, Bant and Jane both turned sharply in the same direction. Next thing Obi-Wan knew, his back had painfully collided with a wall. Before he could recover, the blonde apprentice crashed into his chest, sending him backwards into the wall again.

"Ow!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, holding the back of his head.

Siri struggled to get free off of Obi-Wan, but she was too late the door had hissed closed, locking them in. They heard the sounds of Jane and Bant's laughter down the hall.

"Let us out! This isn't funny!" Siri screamed.

"I don't think they're coming for us," Obi-Wan said, painfully climbing to his feet.

"Kenobi, I'm going to have to kill your best friend and sister," Siri said, crossing her arms.

"I won't stand in your way," Obi-Wan said. He sighed and hit the door with his fist in frustration. "I guess we're stuck here."

They stood there in the dark, facing each other.

"So." Siri said awkwardly.

"So," Obi-Wan repeated. "Strange weather we're having."

"Yep," Siri said, popping the_ p_.

They stood there. Siri watched as Obi-Wan rubbed his lower back.

"What happened to you?" Siri asked sharply.

"Back pain courtesy of Bant and Jane," Obi-Wan said grumpily. Siri nodded.

"I tell ya, they're short and innocent-looking but devious to the core," Siri said.

"Tell me about it," Obi-Wan said with a snort. He grimaced. "Sparring is not going to be pleasant tomorrow."

"I know a muscle-pain relieving technique," Siri blurted out after a moment of hesitation. "If you want, I can use it on your back."

"Um, okay," Obi-Wan said, glad of the darkness so that she couldn't see his red cheeks. Unknown to him, Siri was thinking the same about her own sudden change in skin tone.

"Here, let's sit on the floor," Siri said. Siri sat down against the wall and Obi-Wan sat in front of her. Siri gently rubbed Obi-Wan's back.

"Thanks, that feels good," Obi-Wan said, relaxing as he felt some of the pain disappear.

"No problem," Siri said. They sat in silence for a moment, then Siri spoke up again. "So, what exactly do you think they are expecting us to do in here?"

"Beats me," Obi-Wan said.

"Are they snogging yet?" Jane whispered to Bant, who had her ear pressed against the door. An hour had passed since they had locked the two older apprentices in the closet.

"Don't think so," Bant whispered back.

But then their eyes both widened as they heard Siri's voice.

"How does that feel?"

"Okay. There's still a little bit of pain," Obi-Wan said.

"Take off your shirt. Skin on skin will feel better."

"Alright," Obi-Wan said. A moment later, he softly moaned. "Siri, that feels wonderful."

"I thought it would," Siri said in a smug voice.

Jane and Bant looked at each other.

"I think," Jane said in a strained voice. "We don't want to know."

Bant nodded. They both got up and ran away.

Siri paused in rubbing Obi-Wan's back.

"You know, it just occurred to me that we could use the Force to undo the lock." She said, frowning at the fact that neither of them had come to that conclusion earlier.

"Huh. Guess we can." Obi-Wan climbed to his feet and pulled his shirt back on. With some careful concentration, he undid the lock. He and Siri grimaced at the bright lights.

"So, um," Obi-Wan said said. "Thanks again."

"Anytime," Siri said. "So I guess I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Obi-Wan said, nodding.

"Then… see you," Siri said.

She walked down the hallway. Obi-Wan watched her for a moment and smiled briefly as he let his eyes wander down her figure, then shook his head to get himself back to reality. Mentally scolding himself, he started down the hall in the other direction.

Unbeknownst to him, Siri paused in her walk to gaze over her shoulder. She smiled as she watched him walk.

_What I would do to claim that backside as mine,_ She thought. Chuckling to herself, she continued to walk.


	8. Chapter 8

**"Never work with animals or children." - W.C. Fields**

Qui-Gon's Master—Dooku—had once told him "Never work with animals or children." The at the time sixteen year old was shocked to hear those words come out of his master's mouth, as he volunteered often to watch the younglings in the crèche and loved them all. However, many years later, Qui-Gon discovered that there was some solid advice behind his Master's words.

"Hi, Master!" Jane cried from across the room, waving at him. Qui-Gon felt his hair go gray to see Jane playing with Nexus. Wild, vicious animals that could eat the girl and still have room for dessert. His blood ran cold at the thought of her being mauled. And his head started spinning, wondering just how the five year old managed to get in the supposedly locked cage with them.

Then, feeling an urge to pound his head against a wall, remembered that she was: 1, Force Sensitive. 2, Highly trained to use the Force. 3, a genius. And 4, Corellian. Corellians live to get into trouble and are stubborn enough to see to the end of the messes they get themselves into.

"Jane Marie Mago!" Qui-Gon yelled through the room full of noisy animals. His little goddaughter looked up, her hazel eyes curious. "Get over here right now young lady!"

"I'll be right there! I've got to say good-bye!" Jane called back, grinning. And she then proceeded to pet each Nexu, kiss it on the head and say something to each one. Qui-Gon felt his heart stop when one leapt onto Jane, but she started giggling as it licked her. She climbed out of the cage, locking it behind her and made her way through the maze of cages and crates.

The ringmaster of the circus Qui-Gon and his Padawans were traveling with came up behind Qui-Gon.

"You know, my Master always told me to never work with children or animals," Qui-Gon said softly as Jane stopped to pet something fluffy that was bouncing up and down in its enclosure. "I'm starting to see why."

The ringmaster—a short, portly man with white hair—chuckled.

"The ringmaster before me told me something similar," He admitted. "He told me to never work with children _and_ animals."

"I fail to see a difference," Qui-Gon said.

The old man grinned.

"Don't see any other kids running around, do you?" He said.

Qui-Gon turned to smile at him as Jane came to his side, looking up at Qui-Gon expectantly. He took the small girl by the shoulder and led her out of the room.

She did not leave his sight for the rest of the trip.


	9. Chapter 9

**Life, the Universe, Everything**

Obi-Wan glanced up as Jane stormed in the apartment and began to brace himself. He was going to be on his own to try and determine—not only what had angered her—how to comfort her.

"Jainy-bug?" Obi-Wan said as the four year old stomped past him, throwing down her bag and kicking off her boots. "Is everything alright?"

"No!" Jane snapped, then went to her room and closed the door.

With a sigh—and regret that Qui-Gon was not on-planet at the moment—Obi-Wan went to her door. His heart broke when he heard her sobbing. He knocked lightly at the door.

"Go away!" Said Jane's muffled voice.

"Jane," Obi-Wan said firmly. "You and I both know that's not going to happen. Now, may I come in?"

The door opened and Obi-Wan stepped in. Jane was lying face down on her bed, her face buried in her pillow. Obi-Wan sat down beside her and rubbed her back.

"Can you tell me what's upset you?" He asked.

"Life, the Universe, everything!" Jane said with a sob.

_Oh, her teenage years are going to be delightful,_ Obi-Wan thought to himself.

"Come on, you can tell me," Obi-Wan said, making circles on Jane's back. "So who do I need to beat up for making my baby sister cry?"

Jane sat up and sniffed. She rubbed one of her teary hazel eyes with her fist.

"No one likes me," She moaned.

"That's not true," Obi-Wan said, pulling her onto his lap. "I like you. Qui-Gon likes you. Bant, Siri and Winna like you. Yoda thinks you're the best thing that's ever stepped foot into the Temple. And even Master Windu seems to like you, and I didn't think it was possible for him to like anyone."

"No one in my classes likes me," Jane grumbled, burying her face into Obi-Wan's tunic.

"Why?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Because, apparently I'm a lucky know-it-all who should still be in the Crèche, not have the highest grades in class. And everybody in the Crèche hates me too, because they all think I'm weird," Jane said, more tears running down her face. "Everyone thinks that Qui-Gon shouldn't have taken me on as an apprentice."

"They are simply jealous, because you are smarter than everyone else and because a few rules were broken for you," Obi-Wan said. "Because they aren't as special as you. Special, not weird."

Jane sniffed again but said nothing.

"You know," Obi-Wan said, rocking with Jane in his arms a little bit. "When I was a kid, I got picked on a lot."

"How come?" Jane asked, indefinably confused.

"There was this guy in my class, his name was Bruck," Obi-Wan said. "He thought he deserved to be the best of the best Jedi, though why I don't know. He hated me because he thought I would jeopardize that. The last few years before I was taken on at Qui-Gon's apprentice, I went through a few growth spurts-"

"No offense, Obister, but I don't think they did you any good," Jane said. Obi-Wan chuckled, glad to see she was cheering up enough to poke fun at his lack of height.

"Well, they didn't do me any good then, either," Obi-Wan said. "I kept growing so fast that my feet couldn't always catch up with me and I'd end up on the floor, or I wouldn't know exactly how tall I was until I hit my head on something, or how long my arms were until I got singed. Bruck found it extremely amusing. Called me 'Oafy-Wan'."

"Oafy-Wan?" Jane repeated, an eyebrow raised. "This guy wasn't very creative. I take it he wasn't the brightest star in the sky?"

"That's about right," Obi-Wan said. "Thing was, I let him get to my head, let him pull at my anger until one day I snapped." He stared at the floor. "I was close, very, very close, to not being a Padawan, or a Jedi at all because of that. I had been shipped off to join the AgriCorps. Fortunately, Yoda decided that Qui-Gon needed to be on the same transport as me, to give us both a second chance, I guess. A few misadventures later, I was Qui-Gon's apprentice. Because he saw something in me that he saw in no others."

"Did Bruck ever get chosen as a Padawan?" Jane asked.

Obi-Wan sighed and shook his head.

"No. He died when we were thirteen. He joined a Dark Jedi who was overrunning the temple. He and I dueled in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. He slipped and fell from the rocks we were on. He died of a broken neck." Obi-Wan still felt some guilt over the matter, no matter how many times he was told it wasn't his fault, or anybody's fault for that matter.

Jane sensed his distress and reached up her arms and wrapped them around Obi-Wan's neck. Obi-Wan returned the hug. The two sat there for a few minutes in silence.

"Alright kiddo," Obi-Wan said, setting Jane on her feet. "Let's say we break into the emergency funds Qui-Gon left us and we order take-out."

"And ice cream?" Jane asked as Obi-Wan stood up.

"I think we can do that," Obi-Wan said, taking her hand as they left her room.

"And make it a movie night?" Jane asked, batting her eyelashes.

Obi-Wan smiled.

"You don't have classes in the morning, so I don't see why not," He said.

"Yay!" Jane said, grinning broadly.

And so, just two hours later, any remaining guilt or sadness was gone as the two apprentices sat curled up on the couch, both fast asleep as the movie's detective hero revealed the thief.


	10. Chapter 10

So, all of my science textbooks are titled Exploring Creation with Chemistry/Biology/Etc. and that inspired this one.**  
**

****_Explore_

"What are you two doing?" Qui-Gon demanded as he entered the apartment. "And why are you doing it in my kitchen?"

"We're doing a science experiment," Jane said as she finished measuring out an ingredient.

Qui-Gon picked up the book that his Padawans were using.

"Exploring Natural Disasters with 10 Easy Experiments You Can Do at Home," Qui-Gon said as he read off the title of the book. He looked up and raised an eyebrow. "I do not know why you need to experiment. You two are the natural disasters."

"Very funny Master," Obi-Wan said, grinning. "Now, watch as our simulated volcano erupts, and the 'lava' runs down the side of our volcano. Ready, Jane?"

"Ready!" Jane said.

"Then put in the last ingredient," Obi-Wan said.

Jane carefully tipped the beaker full of baking soda into the 'volcano' opening. Instantly, red-orange goop came out of the opening and running down the sides. Jane and Obi-Wan grinned at each other and high-fived. But before they could be too proud of themselves, the goop started bubbling.

Jane screamed as the goop bubbles exploded, the red-orange slime going everywhere: the walls, the counters, the celling, Jane and Obi-Wan.

Qui-Gon lowered the book, which he had used to cover his face; his was the only one that was not covered in the gunk.

"Like I said, natural disasters," He said. He turned the pages of the book till he found the place where it had been opened when he came in. He looked over at their measuring units. "Here's a tip: one fourth of a teaspoon is not equal to one fourth of a cup."

"Oops." Jane muttered, wiping the goo off her face.

"Clean this mess up, now, then go clean yourselves up," Qui-Gon said, tucking the book under his arm. "And from now on, all experiments are to be done outside. Far, far away from my kitchen."

"Yes Master," The two Padawans said.

"Glad we are at an understanding," Qui-Gon said. He left the room and heard Jane say from behind him, "Does this mean we can still do the one about groundshakes?"

Qui-Gon grinned to himself. Oh, how those two kept him young.


	11. Chapter 11

**Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. ~T.S. Eliot**

Qui-Gon Jinn soon discovered that his three-year-old, fragile-looking goddaughter (now his apprentice) was fearless.

Well, almost fearless. She still screamed and ran out of the room whenever she saw a spider. But she never let him or Obi-Wan kill it; it was always catch-and-release.

Qui-Gon supposed her big heart also had something to do with her boldness. Granted, knowing that didn't stop giving him gray hair and near heart-attacks when he saw her doing something dangerous.

"You enjoy scaring me," Qui-Gon accused Jane one day as she walked along the stone wall of the bridge in the Room of a Thousand Fountains.

"Well, I don't _like_ scaring you, per se," Jane explained as she teetered slightly before regaining her balance. "But if I don't take risks, how will I know how far I can go?"

"It's the risks you take that worry me," Qui-Gon said.

"I always carefully calculate things before I do them and I'm always careful and I only rarely get injured." Jane said as she hopped off the masonry as the bridge ended.

"I know how you take your risks, but what I don't know is why," Qui-Gon said.

"Because I'm not afraid," Jane said, reaching up to grab a leaf from a low-hanging branch.

"I figured that part out on my own," Qui-Gon said dryly. Jane laughed.

"Well, obviously I'm not afraid of the danger I put myself in," Jane said. "But I'm also not afraid of what could happen if I mess up. If I get hurt, or worse."

"You're not afraid of death," Qui-Gon said as the little girl did cartwheels down the path.

"No, I'm not," Jane said with a grin. "And not because I believe that 'there is no death, there is the Force' stuff. It's because I believe in greater things that come after death."

"As in…?" Qui-Gon prompted.

"The life that comes from death, eternal life with no pain or fear or sadness. Only joy and love," Jane said. She beamed up at her Master. "That's what I live for every day. That's the reason why I'm not afraid. That's the reason why I'm not afraid to die."

Qui-Gon was silent, contemplating the girl's words. Jane sensed that he needed some time to think about this, so she said,

"Master, can I go swim in the lake for a while?"

Qui-Gon smiled at her and patted her head.

"Yes, go on, I will call you when it's time for dinner." He said.

He watched her as she splashed in the water with some older imitates she knew well and thought about the deep words that had left her young mouth.

Life that comes from death, that is pain free with no sadness.

For the first time since her death a year and half previously, Qui-Gon felt no pain as he thought of Tahl. He knew she would agree with Jane, believe what the little girl believed. Perhaps she did. She, like Jane, was fearless and even though she spent the last years of her life blind, that did not stop her from living her life to the fullest. Yes, he knew without a doubt Tahl was living this beautiful life that came with death.

He blinked away tears and smiled as listened to the laughter coming from the lake.

_And I can't wait to join her._

* * *

**This will be the last of the vignettes for a while. I will end Hauntings From The Past in my update next week, and then proceed to work on the sequel 'Behind These Hazel Eyes', but I have no idea when that will start being posted. Thank you all for reading these!**


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